Metal wheel



Reissued Nov.L v28, `1933 vPATENT OFFICE METAL WHEEL Reuben stanley smith, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor, .by mesne assignments, to Budd Wheel Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a'corporation ol.'

Pennsylvania OriginalNm 1,347,183, dated July 20, 1920, Serial '=No. 124,498, October 9, 1916. Application for reissue October 2, 1933.l Serial No. 691,902

434 claims. (Cl. 301-64) My invention relates to improvements in metal wheels with especial reference to vehicle wheels. The objects of my invention are to provide a form of constructionfiny which the spokes and rim may bexpressed from sheet metal, contoured to secure a Adegree of resiliency suflicient to relieve the material from excessive shock strains, and provide requisite strength and durability. Another object is to provide spokes which are adapted to directly receive a demountable rim, my improved rim andfspokes being so formed that each spoke provides a seating for an inturned rim flange or set of iianges, and also provides a supporting shoulder against the side of which the rim flanges may be securely clamped, thus enabling me to dispense with xed rims and wedges for rigidly binding the demountable rims in position, and avoiding the annoyances incident to the removal of demountable rims from the fixed rims, and the replacement thereof.

A further object is to provide an improved rim, formed in sections which are annularly separable, each section being provided with an inwardly projecting annular flange on its inner margin, which flanges are adapted for abutting contact with each other, with their inner margins formed to rest upon the spoke seatings. These flanges are clamped against the spoke shoulders by fastening bolts, which also serve to secure them together, although my invention also contemplates auxiliary fastening means forI the flanges, whereby the rim may be'removed bodily fr om the spokes, and its sections subsequently separated by releasing the auxiliary" fastenings.

A further object. of my invention is to provide a form of hub which is peculiarly adapted at one end to receive the specially contoured sheet metal spoke web, saidhub being contoured at its other end to receive a specially formed brace web, or a set of braces, adapted to reinforce the spoke on the inner side, the wheel being preferably in.

wardly dished.

More generally stated, my object is to provide a resilient, durable metal wheel of light weight in proportion to its strength, and having a demountable rim attached directly to the spokes in such a manner that it can be easily and quickly rcmoved, and replaced, or another rim subste tuted,-said rim being formed in separable sections adapted to readily release the tire casing when removed from the spokes.`

In the drawing- Figure 1 is a side view of a steel wheel embodying my invention.

,spoke being progressively bent inwardly at the Fig. 2 is a sectional view drawn to a plane between the spokes and with the illustrated spoke partially broken away at its outer end in radial section to expose the head pieces.

Fig. 3 isa cross-sectional view of one ofthe spokes.

' Fig, 4 is a fragmentary sectional view online 4 4. of Fig. 1. f

Like parts are identified bythe same reference characters throughout the several views. 65

The hub barrel 1 is substantially cylindrical in form and is provided with radially projecting ribs 2 near its' respective ends, and the outer faces of the end portions 3 and 4 beyond the ribs are concavely tapered to receive'the footing webs 7,' and 8 respectively. The web '1 provides common footing for the spokes 10, the latter comprising radially projecting lintegral arms which are partially folded longitudinally so thatl each spoke is substantially U-shaped in cross section. The web 7 is pressed inwardly between the spokes to form lvalleys 11, continuous with the sides of the spokes at the inner yends of the latter, the bulging portions `12 of the web in line with each sides, with increasing depth in the valleys as the outer margin of the web is approached, whereby the sides lof the spokes, as well as the outer faces thereof, may be made integrally continuousl with the web.

The spokes are preferably inclined toward the innerside of the Wheel, said wheel being thus inwardly dished, and the web 8 is a bracing web. The marginal portions 13 of this web 8 are also pressed inwardly along curved lines between thev spokes and lapped upon the inner faces of the '.valley portions 11 of web '7. Between these portions 13er the bracing web 8, said web is provided with arms 14, which are formed from tapered extensions of the web, longitudinally -folded to fit within the spokes 10, and each arm y is preferably connected to the spoke within which it ts by a bolt or rivet 15, although any other means of connection may be employed. The folded sides of these arms diverge at-their bases, with their margins continuous with the margins of the portions 13.l 'Ihe two webs, with their arms and spokes form close joints at least at all margins, with each other and with the hub, which may be secured and sealed `by dip brazing the entire wheel, i. e., immersing it in a body of molten brazing spelter. The parts may also be secured by any suitable additional means such as welding or riveting, if desired.

'is in place.

head pieces 18, each contoured to fit within the end of the spoke and-having an arm 19 projecting downwardly along the inner face of the outer wall of the spoke and preferably connected therewith by a rivet or bolt 20. Each head piece 18 is also connected with the side walls of the spoke by a rivet or bolt 21 beyond which the head is provided with a radially projecting a'rm 22, the front face of which is in a plane parallel with the central plane of the Wheel or co-incident therewith. The front Wall of the spoke laps over theouter face of the head piece and abuts against the shoulder formed by the arm 22, therebyv forming a seating for the demountable rim which will now be described.

The rim is composed of two annular members 25 and 26 respectively. The meeting margins of these members are inturned to form strengthening and connecting flanges 27 and 28. When the rim is in'position, the inner margins of these flanges abut the faces 29 formed by the extremitiesof the front walls of the spokes, and the rear face of the flange 28 bears against the front surface of the head piece arm 22 to which the rim flanges are secured by bolts 30 when the rim lAdditional bolts 31 are employed to secure the rim iianges together at intermediate points, whereby the bolts 30 may be removed to allow the rim to be demounted without permitbolts 31 are also removed. The contour of the rim sections 25 and 26 and their radially projecting marginal flanges 33 and 34 respectively, will, of course, be adapted to the requirements of the'tire casing which the rim is intended to receive. Y

The material of which the spokes and rim is formed is preferably sheet steel. This material has considerable resiliency and where the wheel is suitably dished, as illustrated in the drawing, advantage may be taken of this. resiliency to relievethe material from the eifectsof the heavy shocks to which the wheel is subjected under conditions .of ordinary road travel. This feature materially adds to the durability of the rim mem- 4bers and spokes, as well as to the durability of the connections between the several webs and the hub and between the spokes and the head pieces 18. The resiliency -of the wheel is increased by having the webs 7 and 8 and also the members 14 concavely curved, while by pressing the strips of metal composing the spokes into a form which is substantially U-shaped in cross section, great strength is secured in proportion to the weight of the material. I preferably leave the spokes open on the inner side, in order', to secure maximum strength in proportion to the width of the strip. The width of the sides of the spoke largely determine its resistance to thrusts transverse to the line of travel and it is not necessary to close the interior cavity vor channel since `the open side oi the spoke is not exposed to view.

In order to insure accurate seating of the rim flanges 2'1 and 28 upon the seating face 29 the latter may be slightly inclined, the radius ini creasing in the direction of the shoulder. This will also facilitate applying the rim to the spokes, and when the rim is drawn against the shoulder, the spoke ends may be forced inwardly to a slight extent and thus placed under resiilent reactionary pressure.

What I claim is:

1. A wheel `including a web spoke member,

comprising a piece of sheet metal shaped to form a conical hub embracing annulus having radial arms, each partially folded along its longitudinal center line to form a spoke substantially U -shaped in cross section, the outer portions of said annulus being corrugated to form outwardly extending and progressively deepening channels, with the portions between said channels constituting continuations of the spokes in the direction of the hub.

2. A metallic wheel including the combination with a hub, of a piece of sheet metal having a hub embracing bell shaped annulus having its outwardly curving margin provided with radial extensions constituting sheet metal spokes, each partially folded, with the sides turned toward the inner face of the wheel.

3. A wheel including the combination with a hub concavely tapered at one end, of a sheet metal web pressed to nt the concavely tapered portion of the hub and extended toward a transverse plane of the hub along concave lines, and provided with integral extensions having inturned side margins and constituting spokes, and a tire engaging rim secured tothe outer end por- 100 tions of the spokes.

4. A wheel including the combination with a hub concavely tapered at one end, of a sheet metal web pressed to fit the concavely tapered ting the sections 25 and 26 to separate until the portion of the hub and extended toward a transverse plane of the hub along concave lines, and provided with integral extensions having inturned side margins and constituting spokes, inclined rim supporting seatings near the outer ends of the spokes, and a circular member supported by said seatngs in a position to connect lthe outer endsof the spokes, and secured to said outer ends beyond lthe seatings.

5. A metallic wheel including the combination with ,a hub, of a piece of. sheet metal having a hub embracing bell shaped annulus having its outwardly curving margin provided with radial extensions constituting sheet metal spokes, each partially folded with the sides turned toward the inner face of the wheel, rim supporting head pieces seated within the partially folded outer ends of the spokes, and secured thereto, and a rim conn'ected with said head pieces.

6. A wheel, including the combination with a hub', of a set of sheet metal spokes each hav- 125 ing inwardly projecting marginal flanges, head pieces at their outer ends secured to the spokes between said marginal flanges, and forming seatings for a demounta-ble rim, a rim adapted to lit said seatings. and detachable connections for securing the rim upon the seatings and to the spokes.

7. A wheel, including the combination with a hub, of a set of spokes U-shapad in cross section, and each provided witha shouldered head piece forming a rim seating within the U opening, a rim secured to the outer end of the spoke having an inwardly projecting annular member adapted to t said seatings, and means for detachably securing said annular member to said seatings.

8. A wheel including the combination with a hub, having a conically tapered bearing face, of a conically tapered sheet metal annulus adapted to flt said bearing face, and curving outwardly therefrom and in the direction of the inner side of the wheel, said annulus having arms constituting extensions of said outwardly curving portion, and adapted to serve as spokes, each of said arms being partially folded to provide a spoke, U-shaped in cross section, with the margins pro- Jectingtoward th'e inner face of the wheel, a reinforcing head piece secured to the outer end vof each spoke, and adapted to provide seatings for the wheel rim, and a rim detachably secured to said seatings.

9. A metal wheel having spokes substantially U-shaped in cross section and open onone side, said spokes being inclined toward the open side from their inner ends outwardly, in combination with a hub with which the spokes are connected near one end, and a set of braces connecting the middle portions ofthe spokes with the other end portion of the hub.

10. A metal wheel including the combination with a hub having a' tapered end, of a sheet metal web conforming to the tapered portion of the hub and'curving outwardly therefrom in the direction of a transverse plane of the hub, said web having integral extensions constituting spokes, the side margins of which are bent toward the innerV side of the wheel, substantiallyr throughout their length and the'outer ends of the spokes being provided with reinforcing seatings to receive a demountable rim, a demountable rim adapted toflt said seatings, and means for detachably connecting the rim with the seatings.

11. Ametal wheel including the combination oi a hub provided with tapered end portions, `a set of sheet metal webs conforming to the respective tapered end portions of the hub and secured thereto, said webs converging ina transverse plane of the hub along curved lines, spoke arms projecting from the outer margin of one of the webs, braces projecting from the outer margin of the other web and engaging with the spoke arms, and a r-im connecting the outer ends of the spoke arms.

12. A metal wheel including the combination of a hub provided with tapered end portions, a set of sheet metal webs conforming to the respective tapered end portions of the hub and secured thereto, said websrconverging in a transverse plane of the hub along curved lines, spoke arms projecting from the outer margin of one of the webs, braces projecting from the outer margin of the other web and engaging with the spoke arms, and a rim connecting the outer ends of the spoke arms, said spoke arms having inturned side anges between which said braces are received.

13. A metal wheel including the combination of a hub provided with tapered end portions,-a

set of sheet metal webs conforming to the respective tapered end portions of the hub and secured thereto, said webs converging in a transverse plane of the hub along curved lines, spoke arms projecting from the outer margin of one of the webs, braces projecting from the outer mar'- gin of the other web and engaging with the spoke arms, and a rim connecting the'outer ends of the spoke arms, said spoke arms having inturned side anges between' which said braces are re'- deived, said spoke arms having their side margins pressed inwardly along curved lines, and the outer portions of the spoke supporting web be,-

- ing also curved inwardly between the spokes in Y continuance of said curved lines, the other web having its margin slitted between the braces and curved to t the inwardly pressed portions of the spoke supporting web. f

14. A wheel including a set of spokes having their outer ends provided with reinforcing seatings for a demountable rim adapted for two faced contact with such rim, in combination with a demountable rim having an inwardly projecting annular portion adapted to `'rit said seatings, and

means for vdetachablv connecting said rim to the seatings.

with a hub, of a sheet metal web provided with spoke extensions, the margins of which are inturned, said web and spoke extensions being inclined toward the inner side ofthe Wheel from the hub in the direction of the outer ends of the spokes, and concavely curved braces extending from the inner end portion of the hub and connected with the spoke extensions between the inturned -margins of said spoke extensions in the middle portions of the spokes.

16. A metallic wheel including the combination with a hub, of a sheet metal web provided with spokeextensons, the margins of which are inturned, said web and spoke extensions being inclined toward'the inner side `of the Wheel from the hub in the direction of the Iouter ends of the spokes, and braces extending from the inner end portion oi the hub and connected with the spoke extensions, said braces including a common annular sheet metal foot piece having bracing extensions projecting between the margins of the spoke extensions.

17. A metallic wheel including the combination 15. A metallic Wheel including the combination with a hub, of a sheet metal web provided with i spoke extensions, the margins of which are inturned, said web and spoke extensions being inclined .toward the inner side of the wheel from vthe liubin the direction of the outer ends of the spokes, and braces extending from the inner the spoke extensions, and intermediate portions f secured to the portions of said web between the spoke extensions.

18. A metallic wheel comprising the combination with a hub, of a set of concavely dished webs formed of sheet metal, saidwebs each having one margin connected with the hub, and the other marginal portions `converging and united for mutual support, and a set of spokes radiating from the outer margin of one of the webs.

19. A metallic wheel comprising the combination with a hub, of a set of concavely dished webs formed of sheet metal, said webs each having one ln'argin connected with thehub, and the other marginal portions convergng Vand united for mutual support, and a set of spokes radiatf ing from the outer marginof one of the webs, each spoke comprising an integral continuation of the web from`which it radiates.

20. A dished wheel comprising the combination oi' a hub, a sheet metal web secured thereto and provided wlth spoke extensions inclined toward `the inside face of the wheel, and braces extending outwardly from the inner portion of the hub, and connected with the spokes, said braces being concavely curved from the hub toward the radial plane which includes their points of connection with the spokes, and adapted to yield resiliently when the spokes are ilexed.

21. A res'lient wheel, including the combina-` 22. A metallic wheel formed from a disk of sheet metal, and comprising a hub attaching portion and radially extending grooved portions, rim

supporting head pieces secured in the grooved portions at the periphery of the wheel, and a demountable rim attached to the wheel through the said head pieces.

23. A wheel according to claim 1 in .which the axially outer walls of the radial spoke arms`are flanged axially inwardly at their extremities to constitute seats for a rim.

24. A wheel according to claim 1 in which the spoke ends are each provided with an axially extending wall in combination with a rim force tted over the axially extending walls of the spoke ends, whereby there is developed a resilient reactionary pressure'between spokes and rim.`

25. A wheel according to claim 1 in which the spoke ends are each provided with an axially extendinglseating face for the rim, said seating faces being sl`ghtly inclined, in combination with 28. A wheel according to claim 1 in which the` outer corrugated portion of the annulus is reinforced by an inner pressed metal web secured across the corrugations and having radial ex.

tensions into the spoke portions', said inner web being joined in its margins to the web spoke member and closing the inner side of the wheel throughout the greater portion of the extent f of the inner web.

hub.

31. A wheel according to claim 1 in which the spoke arms are of substantially the full axial depth of the Iwheel in the'region between the annulus and an outer peripheral connection bey tween the spoke arms, another web having a central annulus and spoke portions extending into the spoke arms, said second web reinforcing and forming a closed structure with the side walls of thespoke arms throughout a portion at least of their length.

.32. A wheel according to claim 1 in which the spoke forming arms radially outwardly of the conical annulus are of substantially the full axial depth ofthe wheel in the region between the annulus and an outer peripheral connection between the spoke 'arms and the continuations of the spokes in the annulus extend over the greater portion of the radial and axial extent of the annulus.

33. A wheel according to claim 1 in which the U-shaped spoke arms have their side walls interbraced by reinforcing braces overlapping said walls in axial direction through axially extending marginal portions of said braces.

34. A wheel according to claim 1 in' which the U-shaped spoke arms have telescoped within them reinforcing braces longitudinally folded to fit within the spoke arms and overlapping the side Walls thereof and secured thereto in said overlap.

35. A metallic wheel according to claim 16 in which the bracing extensions have portions within their marginal edges overlapping the inturned margins of the spokes.

`36. A metallic wheel according to claim 16 in which the bracing extensions are secured to the sidewalls of the spoke extensions and form closed structures with portions at least of said spoke extensions.

37. A metallic wheel according to claim 16 in which the bracing extensions are secured to the s'poke extensions at substantially all meeting margins and form closed structures with portions at least of the spoke extensions.

38. A metallic wheel according to claim 16 in `which the bracing extensions are longitudinally folded to have their side walls overlap the inturned margins of the spoke extensions and are, secured vthereto to form closed structures with the spoke extensions substantially throughout the overlapped regions. v

39. A metallic wheel according to claim 16 in which the sheet metal foot piece and its bracing extensions axially overlap the sheet metal web and its spoke extensions at substantially all meeting margins and are secured thereto at said margins.

40. A metallic wheel including the combination with a hub, of a sheet metal web provided with 1A15 spoke extensions, the margins of which/extensions are inturned andform with the web curved valleys between the spokes, said web and spoke extensions being inclined toward the inner side of the wheel from the hub in thedirection of the outer ends 12g,

of the spokes, braces extending from` the inner end portion of `the huband connected with the spoke extensions, said braces including a common annular sheet metal foot pice having bracing extensions projecting between themargins of the spoke extensions and having inturned portions between the extensions conforming to and overlapping the curvedr valleys of the spoke web and secured thereto.

41. A metallic wheel according tov claim 19 in which the outer margin of the lother of said webs has extensions axially fitted within the spokes and secured to the side walls thereof.

42. A metallic wheel according to claim 19 in which the outer margin of the other of said webs 1.

has extensions axially telescoped within the spokes, said extensions having portions overlapping the side and outer walls of the spokes and secured thereto. p

43. A metallic wheel according to claim 19 in which the outer margin of the other of said webs has portions conforming to and secured to the spoke web in the regions between'the spokes, and also extensions into the spokes secured to the side walls thereof.

" REUBEN STANLEY SMITH. 

